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Greg Potapenko shared thisI used to have the “Nobody cares - work harder” on my lock screen for a while. That’s not true - at least the first part. What was supposed to be a 15-minute Shoptalk turned into an hour-and-fifteen with Cameron Gawley and founder-to-founder one of the things we came up with that can help Tactical Snacks win, is another potential evolution of the brand refresh. What do you think? On with the new, or keep the current? Comment below!
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Greg Potapenko shared thisI’ll be at Shoptalk Fall 2026, digging into how shopping and entertainment are colliding and what the next generation of consumers actually wants. If you’re here too, send me a DM. I’d love to find time to meet while we’re all in Nashville. #ShoptalkFall2026 #ShoptalkFall https://lnkd.in/gWktQWgN
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Greg Potapenko shared this“Why do you train so much?” I get asked this occasionally. The easy answer is because I enjoy it. The more truthful answer is that sometimes training is the one part of life where the rules still make sense. Business can humble you for years. You can work hard and still lose. Launch something and nobody buys. Apply for something and get rejected. Do everything you think you’re supposed to do and still wonder if you’re moving backwards. Training is simpler. Do the work. Get uncomfortable. Come back tomorrow. It doesn’t solve the other problems. And exercise isn’t a substitute for actually dealing with them or asking for help when you need it. But when other parts of life feel uncertain, there’s something reassuring about having one place where progress still feels earned. Maybe that’s why I train so much.
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Greg Potapenko shared thisCommerce Roundtable 2026 was Conveniently hosted right next to the USS Midway, where I finished the 3.3mi The Honor Foundation SOF swim the day before - So I arrived with slightly sore shoulders but an open mind. A few key takeaways stood out for 2026: 1. The DTC playbook changed. Taylor Holiday opened with a data-backed study, that the current ad auction is rigged for you to lose: with the sheer amount of creative being pumped out, it now takes an average of 80 ads to find just one winner, and the cost of producing them is an additional drag. On top of that you got CAC inflation. Signal loss. Splintered attention. Meanwhile, discovery moved to feeds and marketplaces, social added checkout, and retail came back. The old “run Meta ads to a Shopify store” model isn’t dead, but it’s clearly no longer the whole game. 2. Creators aren’t just marketing anymore. They’re distribution. One example shared: 15K creators engaged, 20K creator videos, 25K affiliates showcasing the product and 350M impressions. The interesting part wasn’t just the scale. It was the reminder that recruiting creators isn’t enough. You have to manage them personally, support them and set them up to win. Basically, industrialize creator marketing without making the relationships feel industrial. At the same time, the pay-per-performance creator model seems to be the only way to combat the cost of the test-to-winner ratio in point 1 above. 3. You can’t outspend a page that doesn’t convert. Probably the simplest slide of the event, and one I needed to see. We spend so much time talking about CAC, creative and media buying when sometimes the answer is simply: your page sucks. 4. Great ads still come back to fundamentals. Angle. Avatar. Desire. Mechanism. Authority. Awareness. Emotion. Positioning. Urgency. AI can help produce 1,000 variations, but it doesn’t eliminate the need to understand why someone should care. 5. At the same time, if you don’t want to be left behind, AI needs to move from “tool I occasionally use” to the place where work starts. One recommendation was to make Claude Code or Codex the main entry point for actual work, give it the systems and context it needs, and stay involved until the output is useful. That one I’m actively trying to get better at. And then, among all the slides about AI, creators, conversion and commerce, one of my favorites had nothing to do with ecommerce: “Enjoy your life now. Approve of what you have.” Easy advice to nod along to. Much harder advice for entrepreneurs to actually follow. Especially when you’re constantly measuring yourself against the next revenue milestone, exit, brand or person who seems 10 years ahead. Good reminder that the goal isn’t just to build a better business. It’s to build a life you don’t need to postpone enjoying.
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Greg Potapenko shared this3.3mi across San Diego Bay with the SEALs, Recon Marines and just badass athletes for The Honor Foundation #swimforSOF Tomorrow - Commerce Roundtable
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Greg Potapenko shared thisIf you’re a vetpreneur in Ontario, check out this eventGreg Potapenko shared thisBusinesses are built by people with the courage to lead, adapt and serve. This Small Business Month, we're excited to collaborate with the Veteran Business Network Institute - VBNI to bring together entrepreneurs, founders and CEOs who have translated their experience in the military, public safety and policing into thriving businesses. At Tangerine, we're proud to support the connections, conversations and opportunities that help veteran entrepreneurs grow their businesses and strengthen communities across Canada. Comment 'Veteran' if you want to attend and we'll send you the registration link.
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Greg Potapenko shared thisI'm officially heading to Groceryshop 2026 in Las Vegas this September! https://lnkd.in/g3eCmmRf Retail is changing faster than I've ever seen it: AI, shopper behavior, and every major format shifting at once. The best thing I can do before locking in a strategy is get out of the office and watch the next year of everyday retail get decided. The partners, the playbook, and 2027 goals all come together at Groceryshop. Join me there! (And check out Tactical Snacks!) #Groceryshop2026 #Groceryshop
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Greg Potapenko shared thisIn less than a week, next Saturday, I’m swimming across San Diego Bay alongside some of the most badass athletes and warriors. There’s still time to support - https://lnkd.in/gEShDaP8 - or join us on the USS Midway Museum to cheer along. If you're in San Diego next weekend (perhaps attending Commerce Roundtable?) I hope to see you out there!Greg Potapenko shared thisEvery swimmer who enters the water at Swim for SOF carries something far more meaningful than a race bib: a tribute card. Each card honors a fallen Special Operations Forces teammate—their name, their service, and their sacrifice. From the first stroke to the final mile, and through every tribute workout along the way, our swimmers carry their stories forward. Their names are remembered. Their sacrifice is honored. Their legacy is carried forward. This is more than a swim. It is a tribute. A commitment. A promise that those who gave everything in service to our nation will never be forgotten. On September 19, 2026, we swim in their honor. Join us at Swim for SOF as we honor the fallen and carry their legacy forward. https://lnkd.in/gD5f8Ztg
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Greg Potapenko shared thisI reread the premise of Seth Godin’s “The Dip” again, and realized it describes one of the hardest founder decisions surprisingly well. The problem isn’t that entrepreneurship gets hard. You expect that. The problem is figuring out what kind of hard you’re experiencing. Is it the Dip, the painful stretch between starting something and becoming genuinely good enough at it to win, but also a “skate ramp”? Or is it a cul-de-sac where another year, another $XXX,XXX and another 1,000 hours mostly produce more of the same? From inside the business, they can look almost identical: -Sales aren’t good enough yet. -Distribution isn’t good enough yet. -Economics aren’t good enough yet. And the prescription always seems available: “Work harder. Raise money. Hire better people. Launch more ads. Try another channel.” - the LI feed is full of advice and motivation from other businesses apparently achieving multimillion dollar run-rates before you’ve finished your morning coffee. So there has to be a better metric than “do I still believe?” or “am I a quitter?”: define what needs to become true for continued investment to be justified. If those milestones happen, you’re earning your way through the Dip. If they don’t, persistence may just be a very expensive stubbornness. Knowing the difference might just be one of the most valuable founder skills there is to learn…
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Greg Potapenko liked thisGreg Potapenko liked thisCoolers are packed and ready. October 6–9, NACS gets its first taste of something new: AN ALL-NEW REAL AMERICAN BEER to add to the family. Can you guess what it is??? Big reveal coming. First pour. Only at Booth C3585. And we’re bringing RAB LIGHT and RAB ZERO ice cold and ready for kickoff. Vegas, let’s make this NACS Show one for the books 🇺🇸🇺🇸🍻 #NACSShow Real American Beer Chad Bronstein Keely Mulligan Justin Haines Tom Kennedy James Case Michael Lipschutz Cortney Hampton Darryl Edwards
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Greg Potapenko liked thisGreg Potapenko liked thisLeaving Shoptalk Fall in Nashville feeling nothing but INSPIRED! A few days of conversations, fresh perspectives, and new ideas have reinforced something I keep coming back to. In an ever changing consumer shopping landscape, we have to stay curious, keep learning, and never be afraid to test, adapt, and evolve. The consumer is constantly changing, and the way we shop, discover, and engage with brands is changing right alongside them. Staying ahead means being open to new ideas, challenging the way we’ve always done things, and learning from both our successes and our failures. At PartnerCentric, these insights are an opportunity to think differently, challenge the norm, and continue finding new ways to drive growth and deliver value for our clients. Grateful for the conversations, connections, and reminders that the best way forward is to stay curious, keep experimenting, and never stop learning🤎 #shoptalkfall #shoptalk
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Greg Potapenko liked thisGreg Potapenko liked thisMore than $4.4 billion in GMV flows through TestParty customer sites annually across 1.1+ billion accessible sessions. That's ~1.2% of Shopify's GMV! From brands like Claire's, OLIPOP, Hulken, OluKai, Magic Spoon, SUKOSHI, and hundreds more. Great data to end Q3!
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Greg Potapenko liked thisGreg Potapenko liked thisAt Fort Bragg, Soldiers now have Rally Point Bistro—the installation’s first campus-style dining venue. More choice, extended hours and an experience designed around how Soldiers live, train and work. Task & Purpose just reported on another idea Robert is exploring: healthier grab-and-go options for Airmen working on the Barksdale flight line, where crews may not be able to leave for a meal. It’s still early, but it’s a challenge worth addressing. Read the Task & Purpose story: https://lnkd.in/gTfhrtMn Food modernization has to fit the realities of service—the location, the schedule and the people doing the work. I’m proud of the work Robert and our team are doing with Army leaders. Through Fuel to Serve, our collaboration with USAA, we’re also taking a broader look at food access and support for military families. Congratulations to everyone at Fort Bragg who brought Rally Point Bistro to life. For service members who follow me here: where would better food access make the biggest difference in your day?
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Greg Potapenko liked thisGreg Potapenko liked thisBoostcous just won its first official award 🏆 We took home the Shelfie for Best Protein Product at the 2026 Startup CPG Shelfie Awards. Here's how competitive it was: → 2,000+ products submitted → 652 brands applied → 145 finalists → 45 winners Huge thank you to Startup CPG for putting this together, and to the judges for tasting through so many amazing products. cc Daniel/ Caitlin / Patricia And congrats to all of our fellow finalists and winners. What a stacked lineup!! P.s. I forgot to take my AirPods out don't make fun of me!!
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Greg Potapenko liked thisGreg Potapenko liked thisWhat happens in Vegas does NOT in fact stay in Vegas... After a week at Groceryshop, Ryan Mitchell and I came home with new connections, fresh perspectives on the future of retail, and plenty of ideas after listening to incredible speakers from some of the biggest names across consumer and CPG (including Unilever, Instacart, Liquid Death and DoorDash). Between sessions, 1:1 meetings, and conversations on how brands are thinking about growth, we had a lot to take back to the Tracksuit team! Not to mention THE Timbaland performed at the annual Groceryshop networking party. Where are my 90's babies at? Thanks Vegas, never a dull moment! 🎲 ♠️ 🎰 #Groceryshop2026 #BrandMarketing #Retail #CPG #BrandTracking
Experience & Education
Licenses & Certifications
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Mentor Exchange Season 15
American Marketing Association, AMA (Toronto)
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CFA Program Candidate (Passed Level 1 and Level 2)
CFA Institute
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CSC
CSI
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PMP
PMI
Volunteer Experience
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Business Mentor
Prince's Trust Canada
- 6 years 1 month
i18n_veterans
I was a mentor in Operation Entrepreneur’s program of Prince's Trust Canada that provided veterans and transitioning members of the
military community with the tools they need to start and grow successful businesses. During this
program I formally mentor veteran entrepreneurs one-on-one for six-months. In this capacity
I:
Gained insight into the Military community by completing mental health and military
culture awareness training
Supported the development and attainment…I was a mentor in Operation Entrepreneur’s program of Prince's Trust Canada that provided veterans and transitioning members of the
military community with the tools they need to start and grow successful businesses. During this
program I formally mentor veteran entrepreneurs one-on-one for six-months. In this capacity
I:
Gained insight into the Military community by completing mental health and military
culture awareness training
Supported the development and attainment of mentee SMART goals
Facilitated introductions to individuals within my network
Provided constructive feedback on my mentee’s business ideas, utilizing my
experience to help them plan and move forward -
Business Mentor
Enlisted2Entrepreneur.com
- Present 5 years 1 month
i18n_veterans
I started Enlisted To Entrepreneur to teach Digital Marketing & E-Commerce to enable service members and veterans achieve their own financial freedom in their online business - either whilst still in the service, or transitioning out.
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Business Mentor
Bay & Co
- 1 year 1 month
Economic Empowerment
Providing Growth Marketing help to foreign entrepreneurs who want to start, or bring their innovative businesses to Canada using the Start-up Visa Program.
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Business Mentor
The Forum
- Present 4 years 1 month
Economic Empowerment
The Scotiabank Women Initiative® Mentor Program connects participants with the guidance, knowledge and community they'll need to thrive in business.
Honors & Awards
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Canadian Forces’ Decoration (CD1)
Canadian Armed Forces
The CD recognizes long and exemplary military service. Awarded for every subsequent period of ten years of qualifying service.
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ClickFunnels "2CC Award"
ClickFunnels
Award issued for generating $1MM+ through ClickFunnels marketing funnels
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Canadian Forces’ Decoration (CD)
Canadian Armed Forces
The Canadian Forces’ Decoration is awarded to officers and Non-Commissioned Members of the Canadian Forces who have completed twelve years of service and who have a good record of conduct.
Languages
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English
Native or bilingual proficiency
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Spanish
Professional working proficiency
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Russian
Native or bilingual proficiency
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